Best family towns in Provence & the Riviera

I like Pernes-les-Fontaines as a small town in Provence that is very central so easy to use as a base. I've stayed there 3 times in a lovely country inn (Hotel HErmitage) that has beautiful grounds, rooms, private car park, and a pool, also, which might be nice with your kids. If you want to go into town (the actual town is a few km down the road), there is a nice park by the river and a few sites of tourism interest and a few restaurants. But you can easily go to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue from there which is just a bit further down the road, also. Here's the place I stay http://www.hotel-lhermitage.com/

As for the rest, I'm not big on beaches, but hope you are aware that a lot of the beaches in that part of the Riviera are nothing like the Caribbean, Riveria Maya or Florida beaches on the Gulf. Meaning there are not great sand beaches. Nice itself has a beach, of course (bunch of small rocks, really) so you could stay in Nice for convenience with your flight and satisfy the beach thing. I think there are sand beaches in Cannes and St Tropez, but those aren't exactly unpretentious, relaxed towns.

You could take a look at Lavandou for a beach town (which is west of St Tropez) although it may be too far from Nice if you must depart from there http://www.ot-lelavandou.fr/

On the coast we stayed in Sainte Maxime a beautiful little seaside town just across the bay from St Tropez. It seems to be ideal for family fun, with miles of nice beach, a wide promenade along the water, bike trails, parks, lots of restaurants, shops, and motels. It's very scenic and charming but not quite as 'bling' as St Tropez.
In the Luberon hills of Provence, we used Lourmiran as our base. Very pleasant little town at the edge of the hills. Easy to drive in and out of, several good restaurants, a castle to explore, and fun to stroll around. Lourmain's shops and markets are a bit pricey, but the town is very picturesque, clean and central.

I like Menton on the French coast.

One of our favorites is Villefranche-sur-Mer

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Villefranche-sur-Mer%2C+france+&go=&qs=n&sk=&sc=5-29&form=QBIR#x0y0

The location is perfect for touring all the wonderful places on the coast. It's cute, quaint, and has great restaurants and small, hilly streets to explore.

Antibes IMO is a great base for the whole Riviera - neat old town and also near one of the best beaches around - and also just a few miles from Cannes' world famous beaches. Great public transportation with buses to hill towns and trains all along the coast. A few miles away is Aqua World, a water park young kids may love - on the sea at Biot - train station steps away. (Was called Aqua World when I took my young son there long time ago.)

Although we only spent a few hours there, here's a second for Sainte-Maxime as a family-friendly beach town. And you can find pictures of most every place that folks have mentioned here in the photo album found at http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/provence-and-the-cote-dazur-again.cfm

Cassis was my favorite and Lourmarin in the Luberon.
In the Alpilles I like Maussane and Eygaliers.

Will you have a rental car or will you rely on public transportation? Nice is a superb location for daytrips by train, bus or boat. And it has a beach.

Inland without a car Avignon makes a good base -- but it's not very rural. For smaller towns you really need a car.

Another vote for Antibes.

Mimar - Thanks for you thoughts. We plan to have a car while in Provence but hope to use public transportation while on the coast.

Well, with a car the towns in the Luberon are very popular: Lourmarin as mentioned previously, Menerbes, Bonnieux. We liked St. Remy and found it very centrally located. But it's a bigger town. Uzes is supposed to be nice.

Figure out what you want to see and do in your short time in Provence. Kids would enjoy the markets; check the towns with markets on the days you're there: www.gps4touring.com/web_pages/Market-days-in-Provence.htm. And L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue, in addition to its market, is fun with all its river channels threading through town. Arles has a Roman amphitheater. You can swim at/under the Pont-du-Gard, a Roman aqueduct.

Once you figure out where you want to go, it will help you decide where to base.

Here's another site I find useful even without kids: www.france4families.com/RegionsProvenceHome.htm

Here's one most people haven't heard about: Cavalerie-sur-mer - Im half French and most Americans haven't heard about this little gem on the Med.

We travel with 5 of us (3 kids - 7,11,13) and in Europe in general it's difficult to find somewhere to accomodate us all. Les Residences du Soleil Hotel is lovely and was perfect for us. The town is beyond charming - walk to it within 2 minutes from the hotel which is right on the med. Has a pool and can swim in the ocean from the rocks. The town has an amazing market and lots of wonderful restaurants. You will be one of maybe 2 other Americans there - mostly a tourist spot for German and French couples and families. Bon chance!

As for Provence (technically Languedoc - but borders Provence)- I vote for Uzès or somewhere by the Pont du Gard - amazing! Close to Nimes with its incredible ampitheatre - still in use today for concerts etc. Loads for the kids to do.